


Una Rosa Blu

by Tihany



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluffy Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 03:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tihany/pseuds/Tihany
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Odd's mom is in a coma, and he rushes back to Italy to be with his family. But his need for a friend brings Ulrich to Italy with him.  There, their friendship is given the opportunity to flourish without the worry of schoolwork, or Ulrich's overbearing parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When You're Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of the franchise.

Ulrich continued to stare at his very large pile of peas, a contest that he was rapidly losing. He wasn't glaring at the vegetables because he particularly disliked them; hell, it didn't have anything at all to do with the tiny green peas. He was thinking, but others would refer to it as sulking. The teen didn't even notice his friends' arrival until Yumi pressed a cold hand to his forehead.

"Ulrich, you've been sitting here for ten minutes and have yet to touch a single thing on your tray. What's wrong? Is it something to do with your parents, or something else going on at home? Or do you just miss Odd that much?" She took a bite of her own lunch and watched him closely. Jérémie and Aelita stared at him worriedly as well, nibbling at their food.

"Are you kidding? I finally have the room to myself again. A break from the loud music and weird sleep schedule is a dream come true." Odd . . . he had flown back to Italy for an emergency in his family. Apparently, his mother had been in a terrible accident, resulting in her being confined to a hospital bed for an untold amount of time.

Yumi quickly became annoyed that Ulrich was now ignoring her again and punched him in the arm. "Damn it, Ulrich, quit the tough-guy act for twenty seconds and tell us what's wrong!" She crossed her arms and faced him with her most venomous glare. Ulrich held his hands up in a gesture of defeat.

"Hey, I don't even know what's making me act this way. I generally don't even think of anything, I just . . . Space out." That was a lie. For the past week, the only image on his mind was one of Odd. It was the day Odd had left; in fact, it was only a few moments after he had ended the call from his father. Tears streamed from his green eyes, a foreign look of fear in that stare. It was definitely not something Ulrich had ever seen before, nor did he ever want to see it again. Without another word to his friends, Ulrich stood up and took his untouched meal to the garbage, throwing his tray in the recycling bin. He waved good bye to Jérémie, Aelita and Yumi, making empty promises to talk to them later. He had someone else to talk to first.

-Later, in Ulrich and Odd's dorm room-

"Hey, Odd, how is everything over there?" Ulrich had locked his door and was now sitting on Odd's bed, petting Kiwi. Ulrich had become the dog sitter since Odd couldn't take Kiwi with him on such short notice. He heard a loud sniff on the other end of the line. Odd had been crying.

"Mom's . . . she's stable, but she still hasn't woken up. The doctor says that," he coughed, "that the head trauma may have caused a coma, and if that's the case. . ." Ulrich heard another sniff and a barely stifled sob, "it may be up to several years before she wakes up. And, when she does, she may not remember anything. He−he doesn't know the extent of the damage, and won't until she wakes up." Odd may have often complained about his parents being too laid back and "understanding", but he obviously loved them a lot. His mom's accident had been a week ago and Odd still didn't know how to handle the news. Ulrich wished he was there with Odd right now. Sometimes, a friend was all anyone needed. "How . . . how's Kiwi? Does he miss me?" A smile. Ulrich could hear it.

"Of course Kiwi misses you. He sleeps in your bed,"with me, "and is super attention hungry." There was a weak laugh.

"At least he hasn't stopped eating. I guess he knows I'm too stressed to handle that too. So how's school? Are you getting better grades now that I'm not keeping you up until the wee hours of the morning?"

You still are . . . "I guess you could say that. I got a C+ on my chemistry test yesterday."

Odd whistled. "Well, ain't that something." The bell rang. Ulrich made no move to leave. "Maybe you'll get a B by the time I get back." It was good to hear Odd joking again, however forced it was.

"I think I'll have an A+ by the time you get back." Talk strayed from there to other light and not very important topics. Then the inevitable.

"So, has X.A.N.A. launched any attacks lately?" Odd sounded more curious than anything. If something bad had happened, Ulrich would have already mentioned it.

"Just a few little things here and there. Thankfully it hasn't been bad enough that we couldn't do it on our own." They were more comforted by the fact that X.A.N.A. hadn't found out that Odd was in Italy, virtually defenseless. Worry had haunted Ulrich, but his fears had yet to materialize. They ended the call soon after, promising to talk again soon.

Odd flipped the phone closed as he looked back at the hospital. It was intimidating, even at noon. Italy wasn't well known for its medical prowess, but Odd hoped they would do something for his under-appreciated mother. He sighed and took a deep whiff of the Italian air. Being home wasn't supposed to be this . . . painful.

Ulrich held his phone to his chest, for no other reason than a need for material proof that he had talked to Odd at all; that Odd was holding up. He'd been so worried, and this had been the first time since he left that Odd had talked to him. A sudden knock on his door made him jump, and he left his position on Odd's bed to answer it, though he didn't really want to. Yumi's stern glare met his gaze as he opened the door.

"All right, Ulrich. You've had your time and space. Talk." She sat on his bed and crossed both her arms and legs. "You're usually serious, but this depression is pissing me off and bumming Jérémie and Aelita out. Think about your friends, please?" She said all of this firmly, with anger and a slight air of hurt.

"I told you that I didn't know what was wrong. But I guess . . ." Ulrich paused, choosing his words carefully. "I guess I really was worried about Odd. I called him a little while ago, and I feel better now. I don't feel fantastic, but I feel better. I suppose . . . " He trailed off and left it there.

"You talked to Odd? How is he? And his mom?" Thankfully, the call distracted her from Ulrich's dilemma.

"His mom's stable, but she's in a coma. They don't know if it's temporary or not, so they don't know when she'll be waking up. Odd's a mess. He was crying when I called, but he'd stopped by the time we hung up. Hopefully he's not crying now." Ulrich looked at Odd's bed where Kiwi was sleeping, twitching every now and then. It just made the room seem that much emptier . . . lonelier. Ulrich's life really was bleak without Odd in it.

"The school says they'll excuse my absence, but I still have to do all of the schoolwork over the summer, and take the exams on the same day you guys do. Does that sound even remotely fair to you? Dad wants me to stay home all summer." Odd kicked a piece of gravel from under his yellow platform shoe. These calls with Ulrich had become regular, and really calmed Odd down. Somehow, Ulrich always managed to call when Odd was on the verge of a breakdown. It had become his lifeline.

"So, I guess we won't be seeing much of you, huh?" Ulrich's disappointment was obvious in his voice. It made Odd happy to know how much he was missed at Kadic.

"I suppose not . . ." Odd wasn't too happy about it either. He didn't want to leave his mom's side, but if he didn't get away, he may not recover from the stress.

"Well, we have absolutely no plans this summer, so I'll always be able to talk, I guess."

"How can you have no plans at all? It's summer! A whole two and a half months!"

"Well, you know my family isn't all that into bonding time. I'm just lucky they haven't put me back in tutoring. That math crap they put me through last year was hell on wheels."

"Hey, what language did you sign up for next year?" Odd sat on a bench near the hospital doors, making sure he was in plain view if his father or sisters came looking.

Ulrich took a moment to respond, as if contemplating the randomness of the question and its connection to their current train of conversation. "What language do you think I took? I'm tired of you knowing languages I don't. It makes me feel even stupider, and it'll finally be something you can help me with." His answer only narrowed it down to three languages.

"So, Japanese, Chinese or Italian?" Odd inspected his nails and buffed them on his shirt. He was awfully fidgety, and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was just his nerves and the beating they'd gone through.

"Japanese would have been a good call . . . then you and Yumi could have helped." He laughed. "I signed up for Italian."

Hearing Ulrich say that he was learning his mother language made him feel very warm, though it could have just been the warm breeze that blew at just that moment. Then, he was struck with an ingenious idea. "If you're learning Italian, why don't you come spend the summer here and get some practical skills? It'll be good for your studies and my sanity. What do you think?" Odd was exited and probably getting his hopes up for nothing. Ulrich's parents would never agree to a candid summer trip hundreds of miles away. But there was nothing wrong with hoping, was there?

"It sounds like a great idea, but would either of our families agree to it? I don't want to be a burden on your family at a time like this. And what about X.A.N.A.? What if he attacks while both of us are gone?"

"Jérémie can shut the computer down for the summer. No one will be there anyway. We already have Aelita out of the virtual world and all she needs is the rest of her memory. She'll have the entire summer to make new ones, so she can wait. And don't worry about my family, you forget that we're Italian. Guests are always welcome. And my dad has been telling me that I need a friend around. And if you come back with me after exams, it'll cost less since it'll be a package deal. Will you promise to ask? I know two weeks is kind of short notice, but promise you'll ask!" He sounded desperate, and he knew it, but he needed his friend around.

"I'll ask, but I can't make any promises about being able to go. But I'll ask."

Odd smiled to himself. At least he had some hope for his best friend's company, no matter how feeble.

Ulrich snapped his phone shut, only to open it again and dial another familiar number. It rang only twice before his father answered.

"Ulrich? Why are you calling so late, son? Your mother and I were just going to bed." Ulrich could hear the irritation in his father's voice, but swallowed hard and hoped for the best. The worst he could do was say no, right?


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ulrich tries to study with the added distraction of our favorite blond.

Focusing on the lesson proved difficult. It would be only a few days before Odd came back and everyone took their exams. Then Ulrich might be going with Odd to Italy. It had been a miracle that his father had agreed at all. Convincing him had taken a ton of begging and compromising, but he was allowed to go. The conditions, however, were harsh. He had to pass all of his exams with an 87% or better, and maintain a B average next year. If he fell below a B, well, he didn't want to get into that. One thing was for sure, there would be no more trips anywhere. He had been studying nonstop for the past week and a half, and planned to continue. He took detailed notes and paid his best attention in class. It was difficult, but he wanted nothing more than to leave to Italy with Odd.

Mr. Khews looked out at the class, tapping his pointer on the board. "Remember these eight formulas and what they're for, kids, they'll be on your exam." He put his fists on his hips and smiled evilly. "You won't get a sheet of them during the test, so I hope you have good memories." The bell rang and everyone stood up to leave. Ulrich stayed behind to copy down the formulas from the blackboard. The teacher smiled down at his most improved pupil. "Ulrich, I'm very proud of your progression. What caused this positive change?" He sat down next to Ulrich, who was still writing.

"I have really good drive. I want to pass all of my exams this year, so I'm studying as hard as I can. I have been for a while now." He finished writing and nodded to Mr. Khews before leaving the room, headed straight for the dorms, intent on continuing his studies.

As he neared his door, he heard someone moving and talking inside. He wondered to himself, curious as to why his friends would have entered his room when he wasn't there. He opened the door, expecting to see Jeremy, or maybe Aelita. But it definitely wasn't either of them. It wasn't Yumi either.

"Odd? I thought you weren't getting back until the day before exams?" That was all Ulrich managed to get out before he was ambushed by the shorter teen. Ulrich wasn't one to show affection often; he surely didn't hug people out of the blue, but this embrace was welcomed. Behind closed doors at least.

"I decided to come early and catch up as much as I could. I bet you're absolutely overjoyed!" He was; a little more than he should have been, but he didn't dwell on the emotion. Kiwi ran around Odd's legs and whined, upset that Odd's attention had left him.

"Oh yeah." The reply was sarcastic. "I was wondering why you didn't answer when I called after lunch." Odd hadn't moved from Ulrich's arms, breathing in his friend's scent; he'd missed him so much.

Ulrich finally broke away when there was a loud knock on the door. He opened it and Aelita ran in with Jérémie hot on her heels. "I knew I heard Odd's voice!" She ran over to him and gave him a big, friendly hug. It only lasted a few moments, but it was just long enough to cause a strange discomfort in Ulrich's chest. He dismissed it as unimportant and probably just a pocket of air in his stomach. Instead, he took this time to take in Odd's altered appearance.

He had changed. Not in height, though he had grown maybe an inch, face or weight, but everything else was different. His hair was down, much like it had been when he'd first come to Kadic, but just a bit longer. Perhaps it was because of his family's current situation and his lack of time to style and cut it. His wardrobe had changed as well. The colours were the same as always, but the outfit had less fabric; probably a testimate to the hotter temperatures in Italy. He looked more mature, slightly older, but Ulrich hardly expected him to act that way. Despite the sudden tragedy in his life, he was unlikely he'd be much less the comic he usually was. Nothing slowed Odd down for long.

Yumi came after Aelita called her cell phone, and they all sat and talked for hours. Everyone was back together again, even if only for a few days. Everything fell into place. They didn't go back to their own rooms until just before dinner, leaving Odd and Ulrich alone once more. Odd flopped down on his bed, curling up with Kiwi. "I missed this. And you, Kiwi; were you sad without me? Don't worry, daddy's here now." He looked down at the dog with a stare brimming with unconditional love. Ulrich watched, captivated. It was a just look a parent would give their child, he guessed. He hadn't seen it since he himself was a child, and then only a few times then from his mom.

It suddenly occurred to Ulrich as he watched Odd that something else had changed. Odd had lost weight. His cheekbones were slightly more pronounced than before, and his joints jutted out more than usual. Maybe there was more to Odd's comment about Kiwi not eating than Ulrich had caught. After knowing Odd for two years, he'd found that his metabolism was insane, obvious in the huge amounts of food he consumed at every meal. He had guessed that his metabolism had sped up to catch up with Odd's incredible amount of energy, but maybe Odd at as much as he did to keep up with his body?

"Odd," he said before he realized that he was talking out loud, "have you been eating regularly?" Odd looked at him, shocked.

"What do you mean?" He feigned ignorance, probably thinking that Ulrich was just making a bigger fuss over something small than was needed.

"You're thinner, like  _way_  thinner. You're all boney. Are you sure you're all right?" Ulrich stepped closer to Odd, concerned for his friend's health.

"It's nothing important, just, well . . . I've been worried, you know? And I think too much lately. All the possibilities of what could happen make me anxious, and I . . . I lose my appetite. I'm okay, I swear. I've only been eating weird since the accident, and I still eat, just irregularly and not quite as much. I'll be fine." Odd played with Kiwi's collar, avoiding Ulrich's eyes and over explaining his answer, sounding almost defensive.

Ulrich sighed, pulling Odd into an awkward one-armed hug. "Well, we're having steak and French fries for dinner today, so you can eat my fries." Odd brightened and pulled away to raise his hands in a triumphant gesture.

"Yay! French fries! Maybe I'll steal Jérémie's too . . . he never eats them . . ."

Ulrich smiled, and if Odd, or anyone else had been looking, they would have seen a look similar, if not identical, to the way Odd had looked at Kiwi.

It was the first time Ulrich could remember feeling glad that Odd was scarfing down food faster than he could chew it. He had relinquished the potato portion of his meal happily, and Odd had managed to convince Jeremy to give away his own fries as well. Odd was sitting smugly in front of a huge pile of fries.

Yumi watched with a comical look of horror on her face. "School really wasn't the same without you eating it into bankruptcy." Odd smiled with his mouth full. He had crumbs and ketchup on his bottom lip, and Ulrich hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. Not since Odd had left. It seemed Odd was the only one who could really bring out the best in his solemn roommate.

Ulrich took a generous bite from his steak. He basked in the happiness surrounding everyone at the table. At least, he did until he heard footsteps approaching them. Everyone looked up from their food and conversation to see Sissy standing a foot from their table.

"Odd, how's everything at home?" The sheer civility of the way she asked the question was almost enough for Ulrich to slap himself. It just wasn't natural for Sissy to be nice to Odd. Even stranger was the fact that Odd didn't say anything sarcastic or humourous back to her. He just smiled sweetly and told her that everything was going better, and things were looking up for his mom. Sissy smiled back and walked to the table where Herb and Nicholas were sitting.

No one said anything about the interaction, just acting as if it had never happened. Really, what else could they do? They just continued with their food and conversation.

* * *

"So, what is the chemical symbol for Gold?" Ulrich was holding the periodic table in front of him, asking for the hardest symbols.

"Er . . . Ag?" Odd was obviously trying, though he still didn't quite succeed. He had chewed the hell out of one of his not favourite pens and was fidgeting like crazy.

Ulrich smiled, happy enough that Odd was getting better. "You're close, but it's just a little different. Ag is for Silver."

Odd chewed on his bottom lip, giving the pen a break. "Au?" Ulrich nodded and Odd punched the air in victory.

"Don't get too excited, you've only gotten the first seven, we still have a ton more to study. Not to mention everything else in Chemistry, pre-algebra, History, French and art."

"Art won't be a problem. We don't have an exam in P.E., do we?" Odd rolled over on his bed, looking at Ulrich upside down. Ulrich rolled up the periodic table and tapped Odd on the head with it. Odd groaned and put his arm over his eyes.

"Nope. But you have a lot of catching up to do before Monday."

"Keep hitting me with the study guides, maybe I'll learn by osmosis."

"I don't think it works that way."

"You only say that because you haven't tried it."

Ulrich sighed. "Just keep studying and pay attention to me when I'm talking to you!" He leaned against his own bed frame. "What are you going to do if you fail? Just take all these classes again?"

"Everyone will finally be my height! How exciting!" This comment earned Odd another, harder smack from Ulrich's paper.

"You'll have to go down a few more grades before that'll work out."

Ulrich barely dodged Odd's pillow, instead catching it and throwing it back. "I am not that short!" Odd shouted, struggling through a laugh. "You're such a jerk!" He fell back on his bed, nearly crushing Kiwi and gushed apologies.

"You're so graceful, Odd. Where do you get it?"

"It comes naturally. Jealous?" Odd stuck his tongue out at his roommate. Ulrich just chuckled.

"Can we get back to studying, please? I get a lot from these late night sessions, thanks." Ulrich unrolled the periodic table and listed off more elements. "What element has the symbol Hg?"

"Hydrogen?" Odd picked at his nails.

"Not quite. It's a metal. Liquid."

"Umm . . ."

"Odd, you know this, it's not that hard. They used to use it in thermometers until they found out it was toxic. There's a planet and a Lincoln car with the same name. The test will not give you all these clues."

"Mercury?"

"Yep. Pb?"

"Lead! I know that one!" Odd punched the air. They continued on until Odd started getting fed up with it.

"Shall we go on to History then?" Ulrich reached for his History book.

"I hate History."

"Then you'll need this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I tried to focus on Odd and Ulrich's friendship in this one, with subtle hints here and there towards Ulrich's inner feelings. They aren't obvious at all, and they don't bother Ulrich enough yet for him to start denying anything. Things won't get to that point until later in the story, maybe not until chapter five or beyond. Ulrich has to meet someone else first.
> 
> Odd's parents will make an appearance in the next chapter, and his sisters will show up in the one after. I've been working on creating their characters for a long time now, and I hope they fit in the story. I've taken pains to make them blend into the storyline and fit with the other characters. I hope it works. I love coming up with characters, and having the freedom for these was a dream come true. So far, Elisabeth is my favourite, but don't worry, no one's going to take the spotlight, and just because Odd and Ulrich will be in Italy doesn't mean I won't write about the other characters. Yumi has a very important role to play, as does Sissy. Everyone will be included just as I've included Odd in the story even though he wasn't there.
> 
> About Odd's mom . . . well, who knows. I love her, she's such a nice character, as is Odd's dad. They don't have names, though, as I've noticed. The French Wikipedia just refers to them as M. Della Robbia and Mm. Della Robbia. If anyone knows their names, please let me know, I'd love to keep them with the story. As it stands, I'm just going to give them my own names, though they won't be used very often. I'm sure the Mr. and Mrs. will stay, or just mom and dad. Ulrich's parents will be very important too.
> 
> This fic is going to be very, very long, so I hope you'll stay with me until the end!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, that's the first chapter of my Code Lyoko fanfiction! Yay! Now, I have a lot of notes that need to be addressed.
> 
> Namely, Odd's family living in Italy is, as far as I know, fandom as opposed to canon. The story never gets into where he actually comes from, but it does mention that he's Italian-Nordic. He also gets on a plane whenever he goes to visit his family, so I assume that it's far away at the least. He is fluent in Italian, as he gloats to Jérémie in one of the second season episodes. At least, he does in the French version. I did NOT invent the fact that he's fluent in Japanese and Chinese, this is insinuated, as many sites claim, in another episode when he switches bodies with Yumi. I just decided to make it so because it seemed like a good idea. And making Odd good at languages is kind of important to the plot.
> 
> I'm also excited to be able to play around with the characters of his family. You only get to meet his mom and dad, and you only meet them once. Thus, I get to practically make five characters of my own with very loose guidelines (their names, vague ages and short descriptions that Odd makes in reference). These five characters will be Odd's sisters, Marie, Adèle, Pauline, Elisabeth and Louise. And yes, I have noticed that these names are awfully French, particularly Adèle, but whatever. My theory still holds water, I think.
> 
> I plan to use some Italian in the next few chapters, or even throughout the entire rest of the story, so if I do something wrong, or write something incorrectly, PLEASE inform me. I hate it when people screw up English grammar, so I hope that I don't screw up Italian grammar.
> 
> This story is kind of cannon, but only as if Aelita had been devirtualized in the first season. Oh, and the part where I said that Italy wasn't well known for its hospitals was a generalization I got from a song, and it fit this story. I mean no offense to anyone from Italy, since I've never been there. Though I hope to go at some point. (This mini dream of mine may have been the inspiration for this story to begin with. :D)
> 
> One last note, this may be an OddxUlrich story (which there are far too few of), but very little will happen action-wise for a long time, if ever. I plan for this fic to be really long, which is why I didn't post it until I was almost finished. Some people forget the actual characters of these two. While Odd is construed as a 'playboy' and would probably be comfortable in discovering his sexuality (if he hasn't already) and feelings for his room-mate, Ulrich is not. He's very shy, hardheaded and has very little self-confidence. He gets nervous easily and probably wouldn't be able to get a grasp on these weird feelings towards Odd, and probably wouldn't admit to them for a very long time. At least, not unless Odd says something first. So don't expect too much action too soon, unless you want me to make this story span over several years, which I really don't want to do. 
> 
> THANKS FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!


End file.
